Moeen hits 53-ball century in England win
Bristol: Moeen Ali hit an exhilarating 53-ball century in England’s 124-run win over West Indies in the third one-day international in Bristol.
At one stage, Moeen took 61 runs from 14 deliveries to reach the second-fastest ODI ton by an England batsman. Joe Root earlier made 84 and Ben Stokes 73 in the hosts’ 3699. Chris Gayle threatened to lead a remarkable chase but, after he was run out for 94, West Indies fell to 245 all out, with Liam Plunkett taking 5-52.
The efforts of Moeen and Gayle, coupled with short straight boundaries at both ends of the ground, saw the rope cleared 28 times, a record for an ODI in the UK.
The contest was in the balance when England were pegged back to 217-6, but Moeen shared 117 with Chris Woakes. That led England to a score from which they would take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, which can be won at The Oval on Wednesday.
How he did it?
Moeen has enjoyed a stellar summer, making 361 runs and taking 30 wickets in the Tests against South Africa and West Indies, but this performance was his most devastating.
Arriving as England lost three wickets for 11 runs, the left-hander was forced into circumspection and had 39 from the first 39 deliveries he faced.
What followed was an awesome display of hitting, the ball constantly landing in the crowd as the West Indies bowlers allowed Moeen to target the on side - seven of his eight maximums went over the legside fence.
Moeen took only 12 deliveries to move from 50 to 100 - an ODI record - and, at one point, hit six sixes in eight balls. He was dropped on 87 by Gayle at point and brought up his third ODI century with consecutive maximums - the 53 balls second only to Jos Buttler’s 46-ball hundred against Pakistan in 2015 in terms of fastest centuries by England batsmen.
Moeen eventually skied a return catch to off-spinner Ashley Nurse, his efforts helping England take 93 runs from the final six overs.
Moeen has enjoyed a stellar summer, making 361 runs and taking 30 wickets in the Tests against South Africa and West Indies.